Shadow and Purified Pokémon in Pokémon Go

Along with the Team GO Rocket invasion introduced around a week ago, something else new was introduced into Pokémon Go. Actually, as I've noted in my "hint post" for it, it's not quite a new thing, but that will be explained shortly. The new thing is as I've noted in the title of this post: Shadow Pokémon and Purified Pokémon, the latter being the light counterpart of the former. It's a decidedly different dynamic to other Pokémon already in the game.

Shadow Pokémon were first introduced in Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness, a Pokémon game on the Nintendo GameCube (and one that I have some fondness for - that's another post). Because of that, the concept itself isn't really "new", but it can be considered "newly revived". Those that haven't played the original game will certainly have to play that game, so this new implementation on Pokémon Go cannot really stand in for that experience. It does, however, make a fine substitute in a pinch, and so it is here and playable in Pokémon Go.

Here, Shadow Pokémon can be obtained after defeating a Grunt, which I already detailed in the previous post, the first one above. After the victory screen, a Summary screen will pop up similar to the conclusion of a raid battle; one gets Premium Balls based on the victory, remaining Pokémon, and the levels of the Hero and Purifier medals, which are then used in a bonus challenge to capture a Shadow Pokémon that a Grunt left behind - and yes, that means a Grunt has a team composed of all Shadow Pokémon. Capturing these requires a bit of finesse, just like capturing Pokémon after a raid.

Shadow Pokémon may be left as they are - they know the Charged Move of Frustration - but the Candy and Stardust costs of doing things with them may get excessive; in that case, they may become Purified with some Stardust and Candy, and they'll become reasonably normal, be stronger in all stats, and know the Charged Move of Return instead. Shadow Pokémon cannot be traded, although they initially could and was suggested to be a way of getting a Pokémon with high stats after purification and after a Lucky Trade; there are very few Lucky Shadow Pokémon that remain, and one can be considered fortunate to have one. On the other hand, Purified Pokémon can be traded, but they'll count as a Special Trade.

The invasion of Team GO Rocket has provided an outlet for the new implementation of an old concept. Shadow Pokémon have become the testament for their presence and existence, while Purified Pokémon have become an outlet for an assured stronger Pokémon. And the neat thing is that they're both accessible by pretty much anyone that plays the game. They'll have their hands (and Pokémon Storage) full with this one.

One year ago: Type Logic
Two years ago: Fun at the Beach... or Water Park